- Delia Chandler
- Sep 2, 2020
- 4 min read
Updated: Sep 22, 2024
Two behemoths of American weekly news periodicals, TIME and Newsweek magazines, have exposed me to some of the most heart-breaking stories and riveting images of my generation. When I was about five or 6 years old, it was my job to get the post from the box, and it was a job I coveted. I felt so important, like I was the final link of the Pony Express. One day, the Newsweek magazine arrived and on its cover was the now iconic image of 5 Vietnamese children, one of them a crying naked little girl around my age, running for their lives down a dirt road, their village in flames behind them. This was my introduction to the Viet Nam War.
When I was about 12, I was in the dentist’s office, and on the coffee table was a TIME magazine. On the cover was an African-American family - mom, dad, son, daughter, baby - all members of the religious cult called the Peoples Temple, huddled together arm-in-arm, lying face down, motionless in the dirt of a communal compound in the jungles of Guyana. Apparently their leader, the Rev. Jim Jones, thought it was a good idea to convince his 900 followers to commit mass suicide by drinking cyanide-laced grape Kool-Aid (origin of the saying “drink the Kool-Aid” when someone is seduced and brainwashed by a charismatic leader with dubious intentions) rather than face congressional inquiry into his shenanigans in the jungle.
More recently, in around 1997, I stumbled upon a TIME magazine feature story on the civil war raging in Sierra Leon, and how it was funded mostly by money from the diamond mining trade. It was the first time I had heard about “blood” or “conflict” diamonds. The same year the term “bling” hit the mainstream. "Ghetto Fabulous" was the style de jour. Newly minted rap stars boasted that their diamond encrusted “bling” was the spoils of escaping the American urban war zone. The irony was not lost on me.
Blood Diamonds, also known as “Conflict Diamonds” are stones that are produced in areas controlled by rebel forces that are opposed to internationally recognized governments. Of late these rough diamonds usually come from Mozambique through Zimbabwe with full support from Mugabe's regime, but can also be smuggled from diamond fields in Botswana, Namibia, Angola, the Democratic Republic of Congo. The rebels sell these diamonds and the money is used to purchase arms or to fund their military actions.
(left) Map of Conflict Diamond Countries. Yellow countries are where conflict diamonds have originated. Liberia and Ivory Coast were under Kimberly Process sanctions as of December 2006.
Blood Diamonds are often produced through the forced labour of men, women and children. They are also stolen during shipment or seized by attacking the mining operations of legitimate producers. These attacks can be on the scale of a large military operation. The stones are then smuggled into the international diamond trade and sold as legitimate gems. These diamonds are often the main source of funding for the rebels, however, arms merchants, smugglers and dishonest diamond traders enable their actions. Enormous amounts of money are at stake and bribes, threats, torture, and murder are modes of operation- hence the term "Blood Diamond".
The collapse of yet another African nation (Zimbabwe? Uganda? Liberia? It’s all melting into one big Shakespearean mobster tragedy, isn’t it?) by the hands of yet another greedy despot is further proof that the blame cannot be squarely placed on the shoulders of a power-mad monarchy or the hungry consumer of designer bling. As is often the case in these complicated and horrific twists of fate, greed corrupts and ignorance is bliss.
But the real question is: has the hype surrounding this hot button issue actually helped the exploited? In an attempt to control the flow of blood diamonds - which typically originate from Sierra Leone, Angola, Democratic Republic of Congo, Liberia and Ivory Coast - into the worldwide diamond trade, in 2003 the United Nations and other organizations implemented the Kimberly Process, a government certification procedure.
This procedure requires each nation to certify that all rough diamond exports are produced through legitimate mining and sales activity. All rough diamonds exported from these nations are to be accompanied by certificates. These certificates state that the diamonds were produced, sold and exported through legitimate channels. The certification process accounts for all rough diamonds, through every step of their movement, from mine to retail sale. Retail customers buying a cut diamond are encouraged to insist upon a sales receipt that documents that their diamond originated from a conflict free source.
Kudos for the effort, but is it working? Unfortunately, according to Global Witness, the Kimberley Process has ultimately failed to stem the flow of conflict diamonds, leading them to abandon the scheme in 2011.
Sadly, we’ve all heard this story before. Or alternately, have seen “Blood Diamond”, the Hollywood movie starring Leonardo DiCaprio and that breathtakingly beautiful African actor with the velvety voice and a body that looks as if was carved out of obsidian, Djimon Hounsou. But we could only watch once, and never alone because we can only stomach the graphic horrors and sad ironies once. Does anyone care? At the risk of sounding cynical and self-righteous, my money is on nope as there is "phat coin" to be made no one gives a toss. Besides, diamonds are pretty...
So girls, when choosing your “best friend”, thank God, Buddha, and Allah that someone else has done the dirty work for you.
Or better yet, get matching tattoos. They, too, are forever...
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